Gregor Nemian
Gregor Nemian is a former war hero turned dark mage working for the dark guild Crooked Cross. In his youth he was a soldier from a now failed country, having participated in a fortress siege, from which he was one of less than a hundred survivors. His reputation allowed him to start up a very successful mercenary company, and has since gained fame akin to that of a war hero. Despite this, he is a rather aloof fellow, always carrying himself with a gentlemanly demeanor and generally being open to anyone he interacts with. Deep down however, he carry's a bitter hatred for those who do not act for themselves, and has developed a somewhat warped view of right and wrong as a result. He is an incredibly skilled swordsmen, having developed a unique fencing style which makes use of two blades at once, and utilities Temporal Eye magic to dodge and strike with deadly precision. Appearance Despite his old age, Gregor possesses a rather well build physique. He has not skipped out on his training at all and, despite his fighting style focusing on speed, it is quite obvious by just looking at him that he is no slouch in a physical competition. He has short, black hair which he slicks back, and blue colored eyes. He styles his hair into a short black mustache which covers his upper lip and extends to either side of his mouth. He covers his left eye with an eye-patch, as he lost it long ago during his service in the military. While he has not been in the military for almost a decade, Gregor still insists on donning his full military garb when out in public, even when out on a simple errand. This uniform's trademark is a long blue trench-coat with silver lines and a double breasted buttons. A trio of military metals adorn the left side of his coat, and a array of four gold stars line a set of gold bands on either shoulder.below this, Gregor often wears a much simpler attire, consisting of a white, short sleeved button up shirt and dark grey dress pants. He finishes the look with a pair of jet black shoes. When he chooses to carry them on his person, Gregor will hang his swords slanted across the flat of his back, keeping them out of the way, while at the same time allowing him to draw them at lightning speed. Personality On the outside, Gregor presents himself as a regular, upstanding member of society. He goes about his daily life, living off the money he earned while serving in the military, in relative comfort and obscurity. Despite his almost daily ventures out into the public, Gregor generally keeps to himself, opting to abstain from forming too many personal connections, while at the same time presenting as friendly and jovial. This particular trait shows up more prominently when asked about his service in the army. While still conversing in a polite fashion, Gregor can become dismissive, even disinterested in his own history, much to the dismay of anyone pining after a good old army tale. All of this however, is a mask concealing a deeply jaded individual, with a particularly negative outlook on life as a whole. The legend of his military prowess has become vastly overblown over the years, and constantly being looked to as a hero for actions that, in his words, boiled down to simple luck, has left him highly of most anything he hears. He is by no means paranoid, or under any disillusion as to why he has been thrust upon this pedestal for others to look up to, but cannot help but feel no small amount of disdain for both the military for allowing his story to become so overblown over the years, and for the public at large for buying into what he believes is a very obvious propaganda campaign. In battle however, his demeanor changes entirely. He vehemently abstains from battling in combat however, as he is well aware this his more cold, calculating side goes against the jovial, friendly persona he has developed. His first act will be to remove his military jacket, as he feels it slows him down. It also acts as a sort of battle ritual, as forgoing his outgoing and friendly persona leaves him focused, cold, and calculating. He isn't one to play around in a fight, as he clams he isn't too fond of combat. He makes every strike with the intent to end the battle as quickly as possible, knowing full well that his age could put him at a disadvantage in a more drawn out conflict. History Gregor was born into a simple life. Both his parents where farmers, and instilled their son with a strong sense of responsibility. Gregor grew up happy, but wanting more out of life than waiting for the next harvest. Unfortunately, the lands in which he lived was struck by a year long drought, in which most of the people in his village where either forced to move on, or perished do to lack of food. Seeing no future for himself in his homeland, Gregor enlisted in the military as soon as he was old enough, preferring a life of structure rather than the chaos that came with a life of adventuring. His training was fairly regular, becoming proficient in both close combat and firearms. He came to favor a dule sword fighting style at a young age, an even began training in magic to bolster his already impressive capability’s. He utilised Sword Magic, allowing him to attack at long range with his blades, and Temporal Eye, which allowed him lightning fast reflexes and deadly precision. His skill with a blade, and a spotless success record, pushed Gregor up through the ranks rather quickly, and he found himself holding the rank of general at the age of twenty-seven. As such, he was set up in a foreign land and put in charge of a fortress on the border between two warring nations. For a time, life for Gregor was good. His presence brought a calming sensation to the solders under him, in the face of the constant threat of attack. His forces would occasionally repel small, probing attacks on their defences, but the thought of being caught in an outright war seemed almost impossible. Which made it all the more surprising when a total of three armies marched up on their doorstep. War had been declared, and Gregor’s fortress was the only thing standing in the way of their enemy’s advance through the mountainous terrain around them. The first attack came hard, lasting for three full days, before Gregor’s superior tactics and the fortress superior position saw the first army repelled. Barely left the time to allow his men to rest, the second army came the next day. This attack wore on longer, but again, they where repelled. This attack was costlier than the last, and left most of the men broken. As the last army approached, Gregor laminated that this may very well be his final battle. This army, reinforced by whatever remained of he previous two army’s, lay sedge to the fortress for a full week. At the end of the fighting, there was no victor. The invaders eventually retreated, beaten, broken, and left without leaders. It was a pyrrhic victory however, not enough of Gregors men remained to fully man the fortress, less than fifty members of the garrison had survived. Gregor himself had lost his left eye throughout the course of the fighting. War had been diverted, neither force had enough manpower to mount any sort of attack, and Gregor was soon recalled back to Bantia. He received a hero’s welcome back home, but all Gregor felt was failure. He, and his remaining men, where all commended for their bravery, and this left Gregor extremely jaded. He chose to leave the military, becoming sickened with how they glorified what he saw as his biggest failure, and grew to question just about anything he’d come to know. While growing to adopt the same cheerful persona he had while enlisted, deep down he grew incredibly jaded, refusing anything to do with the military or any such authority in the years following his retirement. Years later, he was approached by one, Groz Damalton, coming to recruit him and a number of like-minded individuals for his, technically dark guild, Crooked Cross. Gregor found himself enthralled by Groz’s goals, pledging himself as his subordinate, working in the shadows as a coordinator and strategist for the dark guild’s illegal activity’s, while still maintaining the outward appearance of a tired old veteran enjoying his retirement. Magic and Abilities Temporal Eye - A particular type of Eye Magic which allows Gregor to perceive things at an accelerated rate, or in layman's terms to see the world in slow motion. This provides him with excess time to make decisions, react, and allows him to, combined with his impressive moment speed, strike with pinpoint accuracy. Temporal Eye does not, however, increase his actual movement speed, just the speed at which he perceive things. Sword Magic - A sort of magic that Gregor uses in conjuncture with his swords. in it's simplest form, Gregor can channel his magic into his blades, increasing their cutting power or destructive potential. He has developed it over the years to be more suited to his fighting style, making it more of an upgrade to his swordsmanship. It allows him to slice through iron beams without even slowing down, while at the same time protecting his weapons from damage. *'Coating' - The basis for Gregor's fighting style, from which he can launch a multitude of different attacks. He will surround the blades of his swords in a cloak of magic power, increasing their durability and cutting power beyond that of a regular weapon. This magic blades also help to protect his sabers from damage, allowing him to perform feats which would shatter the blades of regular swords. As Gregor considers himself a swordsman first, and a mage second, those who know him have taken to considering his use of magic at all as a sign of respect towards his opponent. *'Overreach' - A simple spell which Gregor uses to extend the reach of his slashes. The magic flowing off his blade will expand to almost double the blades profile. This works especially well for keeping opponents at a distance, particularly though his thrusting attacks. Additionally, Gregor can further extend the reach of his blades in a thrusting attack, to a maximum of about twenty feet, though doing so can dampen the effectiveness of his thrusts. *'Tempest' - Similar to his Overreach spell, Gregor uses this spell to extend the range of his attacks. Instead of increasing the reach of his blades however, Gregor as developed this into more of a long range spell. Gregor uses this spell to throw the coating of magic around his blades at his opponent, slicing like a cutting wind. This caries all the same effectiveness of his usual slashes, but with an effective range of almost one hundred feet. *'Hurricane' - In short, a rapid fire version of his Tempest spell. This works especially well for pinning down opponents, or for quickly ripping through a cornered enemy's defenses. Gregor dislikes using this spell too often, or for too long. The rapid movements and need to replace the Coating on his blades can burn through both his stamina and magic power rather quickly, both of which can be in short supply in Gregor's waning years. *'X-ecution' - Gregor's more powerful spell, which he will often fall back on in ever put into a pinch. This combines the coating of both his blades, unleashing a cross shaped version of his Tempest spell, with double the destructive potential. It's range his significantly shorter however, reaching only a little over ten feet. As such, Gregor considers this as more of a swordsmen technique that he has enhanced with magic, rather than a stand alone spell. Incredible Speed - The basis for his swordsmanship, Gregor has trained to hone his speed, rather than his strength. At the height of his stamina, he was able to even deflect gunfire with his blades, though he himself has commented that his age has slowed him down over the over the years. As of yet, he doesn't quite know the limit of his speed, but he remains a deadly fast combatant who can move almost faster than the eye could see. Inhuman reflexes - Even without the use of his Temporal eye magic, Gregor was born with a higher than normal degree of motor function. This, combined with his training as a swordsmen, as well as his keen eye and reliance on his instinct, grant him almost impossibly fast reflexes. While it isn't his specialty, Gregor is able to draw a sword in reaction to an oncoming attack, deflect or counter the blow, and return his blade to it's sheath in a fraction of a second. Keen Observational Skills - More of a natural asset, rather than a learned skill. Gregor has an excellent memory, and is very good a picking on small details even in a fast paced situation. This was a great asset to him in his time in the military, picking up on subtle details such as an enemy's position, terrain, or even weather effects that he could use to turn a battle in his favor. This extends to personal combat as well, picking up on an opponents favored means of attack, attack patterns, or even personality quirks he could turn against them. Average Stamina - As Gregor has been getting up in years, his stamina has noticeably begun to drop over time. This is in part a combination of his growing age, and him becoming lax in his training since his retirement from the army. He is capable of short, frenzied battles, which normal isn't a problem for him because his fighting style relies on quick, lethal strikes and efficient moments. Drawn out battles are a little tougher on him, and little by little the effects of his age will begin to show more prominently. At most, he has about nine minutes worth of high exertion before falling into complete exhaustion. To subvert this, he will attack in short bursts, retreating to a safe distance and allowing his opponents to come to him, stretching out his time for as long as he can. Skilled Swordsmen - Owing his training to his time in the military, Gregor has become highly adept at swordsmanship.He prefers a fencing style, favoring quick jabs targeting either the torso or neck of an opponent. However, he is also adept at slashes, swipes, and even drawing slashes, should an opponent prove nimble enough to avoid his swordplay. In such an occasion, he will revert to wearing an opponent down first, attacking limbs, cutting tendons, or even at worst simply inflicting painful, superficial wounds to slow an opponent down, before later moving in for the kill. Equipment *'Twin Sabers' - Gregor's favored weapons, a pair of long, thin sabers which play into his precise fighting style. Each saber is almost three feet long, with a single cutting edge which tapers to a razor sharp point. Both are designed to be used with a single hand, and have a jet black hand-guard encircling a dyed gold hilt. They both hang around Gregor's waist by brown leather belt, and store in a pair of black scabbards. Trivia His last name, and alias, where inspired by the Nemian Lion, one of the twelve labors of Hercules. Stats Category:Character Category:Characters Category:Original Characters Category:Original Character Category:Human Category:Male Category:Males Category:Mage Category:Mages Category:Caster-Mage Category:Holder-Mage Category:Sword user Category:Swordsman Category:Dark Mage Category:Dark Mages Category:Crooked Cross